


you're my home

by eugyne (AreteNike)



Series: Good, Bad, or Rocket Science [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Dancing, Established Relationship, First Dates, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Klance Big Bang 2018, Love Confessions, M/M, Marriage Proposal, a literal space opera, more than one beach, okay 2 moments of drama, really just a gross amount of fluff with like 1 (one) moment of drama, set in some vague post-s2 void bc its a sequel, veronica wasnt supposed to be here but listen i love her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-12 22:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16004690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AreteNike/pseuds/eugyne
Summary: Feelings are hard and love is scary, but Lance has his back. Always.





	you're my home

**Author's Note:**

> this wasnt beta read. it wasnt even proofread. it is what it is. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> originally for the klance big bang, but like my artist dropped last minute so theres no art. oh well!
> 
> if you havent read the first fic... do that.

"You really like my hands, huh." 

Keith glances down at Lance's hand, which rests in his lap. He's been idly playing with it—lifting up each finger one by one to drop them back against his thigh, methodically curling and uncurling them—while he watches the movie they've put on in Lance's room. He probably does do this a lot—every movie night, really—but the question is new.

"Dunno." It's not something he thinks about, just something he  _ does. _ "I like most of you."

When he looks up, Lance is grinning.

"What part of me  _ don't _ you like, then?"

Keith lets go of Lance's hand to flick the knee that's currently digging into the side of his thigh. "You have a lot of sharp corners."

Lance snorts. "You can't hold that against me when you're  _ just _ as pointy, babe."

Keith shrugs and resumes playing with Lance's fingers. "You asked, I answered."

There's a pause, and then Lance starts poking him with his free hand. "Hey. Hey." Keith doesn't need to look up to see his grin. "You know what you  _ should _ hold against me?"

This is either a joke or a pickup line, or possibly both, though Keith's not sure why Lance would want him to hold a grudge, or why it's funny.

"What?" he asks, turning his head to look at him.

Lance smirks. "You."

...Hold himself... against...? Oh. He rolls his eyes.

"Come on, that was a good one!" Lance protests. 

"It was pretty bad."

"It was  _ not. _ You wanna go, fucker? You wanna fight about it?" Lance pulls up both his fists in a mock boxer's stance, though any shred of threat is ruined by that he's sitting crosslegged in his pajamas. Keith gives him a flat look.

"I'd win."

"Oh, it's on." Lance shoves at him, not nearly hard enough to actually push him over, leans his bony knee on Keith's thigh, and plants a big, wet kiss on Keith's cheek. "Take that, asshole."

Keith frees his leg first, then wipes at his damp cheek with his sleeve. "First of all, ow. Second of all, gross."

Lance beams. "What're you gonna do about it?"

Retaliate in kind, obviously. He grabs Lance's arm and pulls him in, and manages to slime Lance's ear before Lance wriggles free, yelping.

"Ew!" Lance turns toward him for another attack; they tussle for a minute, movie forgotten, until Lance actually licks Keith's cheek and Keith falls over trying to get away.

"I win!" Lance shouts, and he crawls over and settles on Keith's chest, smug. One hand thankfully protects Keith's sternum from his chin; the other rests obligingly on Keith's hand further up on the bed, fingertip to fingertip, palm to palm.

"You're weird," says Keith.

Lance wiggles his fingers against Keith's. "I'm your boyfriend and you love me."

"Hm." Keith looks over at their hands. Is that what they are? Boyfriends? They haven't discussed it, just added kissing to the list of things they do together. A little more cuddling than before, too. 

Well, that's what boyfriends do, right? Not that he's done this before.

"...What is it?" asks Lance, tentative.

"Boyfriend," says Keith, as much to try it out as to answer the question. He decides he likes it. "We're boyfriends."

"Yeah? Did you... not want to be?"

"I want to be," Keith says quickly; he's not going to let Lance be insecure over this. 

"Well, good. Me too." Lance's fingers slip through Keith's, tangling them together. He turns his face to resume watching the movie—like they haven't seen it a dozen times already—head pillowed on Keith's chest. Keith runs his free hand up and down Lance's back, and decides that if anything in all the universe could be called perfect, it would be this moment.

"...Should we be doing more than this?" Lance asks eventually. Keith cranes his neck to look down at him.

"What?"

"I mean, we're boyfriends now. Shouldn't we..." He shrugs. "Date?"

"Does this not count?"

Lance frowns. "Kinda, but we had movie nights before, too."

Keith drops his head back onto the pillow. "You didn't lie on top of me before."

Lance snorts. "True. But still, next time we're on a planet, let's go on a date."

"Okay."

Lance gives a pleased hum, but it's only a few moments before he sighs and buries his face into Keith's chest.

"What's wrong?" Keith asks, craning to look at him again.

"Nothing," Lance mumbles.

"Lance."

Lance sighs again and lifts his head to prop his chin on Keith's chest again, pouting slightly. "It's just that, none of this happened the way I imagined it, and that'll probably just keep happening."

Keith considers that. It's all felt pretty natural to him, but knowing Lance, he was probably imagining... dramatic declarations of love, or something. Something rehearsed, instead of this sort of... falling together. A controlled descent, but pulled by gravity all the same.

"Were you expecting swooning?" Keith grins down at him.

"Maybe?" Lance's sheepish grin grows sharper. "It's not too late, though."

"Well, feel free to swoon at any time."

Lance huffs and rolls his eyes. "That's not the point. The point is, none of this has been very, you know, romantic. I mean, technically I just asked you out, but there wasn't a  _ single _ rose involved."

"What would I do with a rose?" Keith asks. "It'd just die."

"Oh, god, here comes that swooning," Lance says drily.

"I don't need any roses, Lance. Do  _ you _ want a rose? I don't think we can get any real roses out here, but I'd figure something out."

Lance grins. "I don't need a rose, no, but it's sweet of you to offer."

He didn't deny that he wants one, though, Keith notes, and mentally files that away for later.

"You know that stuff is gonna be wasted on me, anyway," he says after a moment.

Lance sighs. "I'd say you don't have a romantic bone in your body, but you  _ did _ just offer to find me a rose in space."

Keith shrugs. "It means more to me just that you're here with me."

Lance buries his face in Keith's chest again. "You can't just  _ say _ that!" he squeaks, and Keith laughs.

* * *

"What day do you think it is on Earth?" Lance asks the table at dinner. "Do you think it's February yet?"

"I don't know," says Shiro, helpfully.

"It might be? It's been awhile," says Hunk. "I mean, does it really matter?"

"Considering he probably just wants to know if it's Valentine's day yet, no." Pidge snorts.

"Are you saying Valentine's day isn't important?" Lance demands, which is when Keith tunes out the conversation, because he can't say Valentine's day is a holiday he's ever particularly cared about.

Which is why it takes him a few minutes to remember that it's a romantic holiday, for couples, and he is now part of one, and maybe if this is something Lance wants to participate in  _ he should really be paying attention. _

"Fuck you guys," Lance says with an air of finality as Keith tunes back in. "I can celebrate it if I want to." And he resumes eating, conversation over.

Shit.

Luckily, Lance decides tonight is a good night to bother Pidge, leaving Keith free to hunt down Hunk in a mild panic.

"I need your help," he blurts, cornering him in the kitchen.

"Uh, sure," says Hunk, sounding mildly alarmed. "What's up?"

"I forgot Valentine's day was a romantic thing."

Hunk blinks at him. 

"So I wasn't paying attention at dinner tonight."

Hunk tilts his head slowly, blinks again. And then his eyes widen.

"You have no idea what to get Lance," he says.

Keith's stomach drops to his toes. "I didn't even know I'm supposed to get him something."

"You poor soul," Hunk says sympathetically. "Thanks for confirming you guys are together, though, he's been refusing to admit it."

Keith's stomach leaves his body completely. "He—why?"

Hunk shrugs, unconcerned. "You know how he is. Embarrassed to change his mind."

Okay, yes, considering all the trouble they had just becoming friends—Keith knows that very well. His stomach returns to its usual position.

"Yeah, okay. But can you help?" Keith shrugs. "I don't know what to get him. Or when. Did he say when?"

"He did not say when," says Hunk. "Or what he wants, but I'd assume normal Valentine's stuff."

"Like what?" Keith asks weakly.

Hunk shrugs. "Chocolates? Flowers? A heartfelt card? A teddy bear holding a little heart? Have you really missed all of Valentine's day every year of your entire life?"

Keith shifts uncomfortably. "...Yes?"

Hunk stares at him. "I'm genuinely impressed. But yeah, usual romantic stuff. Honestly, if you give him anything at all he'll probably love it, he's a huge sap and he can't talk about you without, like, melting into a puddle on my floor."

Keith isn't really sure what to make of that, not least the revelation that Lance talks about him to Hunk. "Uh. Is that a good thing?"

Hunk takes pity on him and doesn't tease him this time, just gives his shoulder a friendly pat. "Yes, it is," he says. 

"Okay." So he just has to find something to give Lance and have it ready when Lance decides to spring Valentine's on him. "Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem, dude." Hunk turns him around and gives him a little push toward the door. "Go woo your man."

"Uh, right." Keith goes.

And proceeds to spend an hour pacing in his room, thinking of things to give Lance only to realize something—usually availability—stands in his way. And, despite his claim of "figuring something out," he can't think of a single thing that he could substitute for a rose. He groans and throws himself down on his bed just in time for the door to slide open and Lance to saunter in.

"Something wrong, babe?" he asks, stopping by Keith's feet.

"No," says Keith. Hell, maybe he should just ask. "What were you planning for Valentine's Day, anyway?"

"Oh!" Lance sounds surprised as Keith sits up to look at him. "I wasn't actually gonna do anything for it. I figured you wouldn't get anything out of it since, as we discussed literally just last night, you're not into all that romantic stuff."

Keith stares.

"Um. Bad surprise?" Lance peers at him, brow furrowed. "Good surprise? ...Rocket science surprise?"

That startles a snort out of Keith. "Uh. I just thought,  _ you _ like that stuff?"

"Yeah? I'd happily shower you in roses and chocolates and stuff, but, like. I can picture it." Lance holds up his thumbs and forefingers in a loose rectangle and squints through it. "I give you a bouquet. You're standing there holding it, looking like a lost puppy. And then you say, 'is this... food?'"

"I know you don't eat bouquets, Lance."

"—And I say, 'no, Keith, it's not for eating.' And you say, 'oh,' and then you just throw it out."

"I wouldn't throw it out immediately..."

Lance points at him. "But you would at some point."

Keith shrugs helplessly. "I'd have to? Flowers die. It's such a weird thing to spend money on. They don't last. If you're gonna give someone a plant they can't even use somehow, at  _ least _ make sure it'll stay alive."

Lance smiles and shakes his head. "And that's why I wasn't gonna do Valentine's day." He sits down next to Keith. "You haven't been stressing out about this, have you?"

"No," Keith says, unconvincingly even to his own ears. Lance snorts and kisses his cheek.

"You're sweet, but seriously, don't worry about it. Half the fun of Valentine's Day anyway is that everyone's in on it, but none of the others care, so there's no point." He grins. "And I don't need an excuse to shower you in affection."

Keith rolls his eyes, but he leans into Lance all the same. "No, I guess not."

* * *

In fairness, Keith does have a tendency to hang in the back of the room when the paladins are at a formal event. He doesn't like crowds, or strangers, or diplomacy, and no one makes more than a superficial effort to get him to socialize anymore. So Lance staring blankly at him when he asks him to dance? Keith probably should've predicted that. 

"...What?" Lance says after a moment. 

"I said, dance with me," Keith repeats, nodding back towards the dance floor, hand outstretched. He tries not to fidget; he has no idea how long this song will last and if Lance doesn't make a decision soon it could turn out to be a very short dance. "I don't know what everyone out there is doing, but it sounds enough like a waltz."

"I. Um. Okay?" Lance very hesitantly takes his hand, and lets Keith lead him onto the floor with a deep frown. 

"Something wrong?" Dancing is a normal dating thing, right? This can't be  _ that _ weird. 

"No, no." Lance shakes his head quickly, face relaxing as they step into position, Keith taking the lead. "It's just a surprise, is all."

Keith raises an eyebrow as they start to move. "Good, bad, or rocket science?"

The corner of Lance's lips quirks up. "Rocket science," he says. "I didn't know you could dance. I didn't think you'd want to, even if you could."

Keith shrugs, leading Lance out into a spin. They nod to Allura as she twirls by in the arms of some diplomat. 

"I like dancing," Keith says when Lance spins back into his arms.

"It's social interaction, though."

"With memorizable rules," Keith says pointedly as they travel across the floor. "And you're moving, not just sitting around. And it was the closest I could get to martial arts when I was nine and my foster family decided I needed an outlet."

Lance laughs. "There it is. Still involves touching someone, though."

"Well, it's you, so it's fine. I just won't dance with anyone else."

Lance smirks. "Not even Allura? I bet she'd like to learn a human dance."

Keith spins him out again suddenly, making Lance yelp and almost stumble. 

"Hey!"

" _ Don't _ give her any ideas."

Lance rolls his eyes. "Fine, fine. I'll just keep you all to myself." He takes advantage of his returning momentum to push into Keith's chest and land a kiss on his nose.

"Where'd you learn to dance, anyway?" Keith asks through a smile as they resume the basic step.

"I've got like five older sisters, I was  _ born _ knowing how to dance." And then Lance steps on his foot.

"Really," says Keith.

"I do  _ rumba _ and stuff, my waltz is rusty," Lance mutters. 

"You're doing pretty well," Keith admits. Privately, he's surprised  _ he _ hasn't stepped on Lance's toes yet—it's been a while since he did this. 

"You're doing  _ really _ well," Lance retorts, and then squeaks when Keith dips him smoothly. "How are you good at this!?"

"Precision and repetition." Keith grins as the song ends, pulling Lance back up to standing.

"Ten bucks says you're quoting someone."

"Not taking that bet, you're right. It was my dance teacher."

The couples around them shift as the next song starts, and Lance perks up.

"We could salsa to this," he says. "D'you salsa?"

"A bit?" says Keith. He's pretty sure he remembers the basic steps, at least. 

"Then I'll lead," Lance says with a grin.

They salsa, and then they make up something like a slow swing, pulling moves from other styles and taking turns leading as they travel around the room. The fourth song is waltz-like again, but Allura finds them taking a breather before they can jump back in.

"I didn't know you two could dance!" she says by way of greeting/ambush, delightedly. "You must teach me; your Earth dances look like such fun."

"I think I'm gonna ask one of our hosts to teach me this one, actually," Lance says before Keith can think of a way to turn her down politely. "I bet Keith would be happy to show you how to waltz, though."

Keith shoots him a warning glare and gets only a wink in return. 

"That would be perfect," Allura responds, stepping closer to Keith and basically removing any chance he had of escaping this unwanted responsibility. "The duke is an excellent dancer; he ought to be able to teach you, Lance."

"Thanks!" says Lance, already walking away, the asshole. "Have fun!"

"We will!" Allura responds, and turns to Keith. "Now. Where do I put my hands?"

Keith groans inwardly. 

But by the end of the night Allura can waltz, and Keith can do a passable imitation of the Altean equivalent, and he dances a song and a half with Shiro too before he finally escapes the dance floor. He makes a beeline for the buffet and finds Pidge there, glaring at him. 

"You abandoned me," she says, pout exaggerated just enough to tell him she's not entirely serious. "Hiding by the food is our  _ thing, _ Keith, how could you do this to me?"

"I was ambushed by Allura," he says before gulping down half a glass of whatever passes for punch around here. Pidge squints at him, then nods slowly. 

"You're forgiven," she says. "Did you have fun?"

He considers. "Mostly. Got stepped on a few times."

She gives a thoughtful hum and helps herself to a pastry. 

The party is winding to a close by the time a still-energetic Lance finds him again; he’ll never understand how parties don't drain the life out of him like they do for Keith (and Pidge). He tugs insistently at Keith's arm as Keith crams a final handful of berries into his mouth. 

"Last dance, Keith, come on," Lance says. 

"Mmf," Keith says around the berries, and lets Lance drag him back onto the dance floor. "We're counting this as our first date, right?"

"What? No," Lance says. "We had to be here either way. Doesn't count."

Keith huffs—this doesn't have to be that  _ complicated _ —but he lets Lance pull him closer anyway. The dance is slow, but, tired as they are, and even as they slowly give up on the steps and resort to leaning on each other and shuffling slowly, it's a good one. 

* * *

"That one," Lance says practically the moment they're off the shuttle, pointing at a brightly colored stall. The market ahead is teeming with aliens, most of whom don't give them a second look, but Keith finds himself holding Lance's hand a little too tightly anyway. Crowds aren't exactly his favorite. But Lance is already dragging him forward and this is,  _ finally, _ their first real date, by whatever standard Lance has set, so he's gonna grin and bear it.

For what it's worth, Lance finds them a path through the crowd easily. They're in front of the stall in seconds, eyeing the colorful merchandise—either jewelry or candy, Keith can't quite tell.

"What's this?" Lance cheerfully asks the vendor, pointing at something green and vaguely star-shaped.

"Glad you asked!" the vendor responds, and launches into a long spiel about their goods. Keith checks out until Lance is tugging him away again. 

"Was that stuff edible? I wasn't listening," Keith mutters once they're out of earshot. Lance snorts. 

"And you said you wouldn't ask if bouquets are food," he says, which isn't really an answer. He shoots a grin back over his shoulder, and it's pathetic how Keith's heart skips a beat at that. "Look, there's a stall you'll like."

The one he points to is absolutely festooned with knives. Keith isn't sure why exactly Lance thinks he'd like that—sure, he always carries a knife, but that's not because he  _ likes knives _ —but Lance is already dragging him there so he's not going to argue. It's not an especially busy stall and the longer he pretends to be interested, the longer he can stay out of the crowd. 

But soon enough he can feel Lance getting antsy beside him, so he reluctantly thanks the vendor and backs away to let Lance lead him elsewhere again.

"Hungry?" Lance asks, leaning in to be heard over the crowd, and Keith shrugs. Lance frowns, but they buy a little tray of something small, round, and delicious at the next stall before slipping out the edge of the market again, to Keith's relief.

"You're not having fun, are you," Lance says, though, and Keith's head snaps up. Woops.

"No, I am," he says. 

Lance gives him a look.

"There's too many people," he admits, glancing over at the bustle nearby. "But if you're having fun, it's okay."

"I'm not having fun if you're not having fun," Lance declares. "We can do something else."

"Can we just... walk?" Keith suggests, gesturing across the market to the river beyond; he's pretty sure he saw a path along it earlier. "But let's get more of these things first," he adds, popping another of the tasty round things in his mouth.

They do, and grab a couple other things to try while they're there, and then they wiggle out the far side of the market and head down to the river. There is indeed a trail along it—it's not empty, but it's a lot better than the market—and they start down it. 

It's definitely quieter here, and they have enough elbow room to enjoy their snacks in peace. Soon enough, though, Lance starts fidgeting again, and Keith feels guilt creep up his spine at forcing Lance away from enjoying the market. 

"Now you're not having fun," he says eventually, and Lance stops and sighs. 

"Yeah, not really," he admits. "I mean, it's not awful, but..."

"Yeah." It could be better. 

"I don't know why I thought this would go well," Lance mutters, running a hand through his hair. 

"Because we're together?" Keith suggests. "But it's not like the first time at anything has worked out for us."

Lance furrows his brow. 

"Remember when you decided to be friends and we both thought the other hated us for a week?" Keith says pointedly. Lance's face screws up in a rueful smile. 

"Fair enough," he says. "Okay, first date's a wash. What now?"

"Now we pick something we'll both enjoy for the second date," Keith says, offering a grin that Lance returns threefold. 

"Damn straight. Okay," Lance says, and they settle on the nearest bench. "What would we both enjoy?"

"Well, what do we already both enjoy?" Keith says. He smirks. "We can make a list—"

"A list!" Lance, predictably, throws up his hands. "You're so predictable. Fine, let's make a list, but we're not writing it down."

"I don't have a pen on me, do you?"

"Okay, smartass." Lance flicks his knee and Keith just grins wider. "So what do we both enjoy?"

"Movies?"

"Yeah, movies. Dancing. Kissing."

"We can't make a date out of kissing."

"I'm being thorough! This was  _ your _ idea." Lance ticks each thing off on his fingers. "Cuddling, too."

"I told you movie nights were already dates."

"Hush, you." Lance clamps a hand over his mouth. "Swimming. I like swimming together."

"You like swimming anyway," Keith mumbles behind Lance's hand, and Lance makes a face and wipes his hand on his pants. 

"Well, yeah, but don't you like it too?"

Keith's mind, unbidden, conjures the image of Lance in nothing but his swim trunks. "Yeah," he says. "I like training together, too. And flying."

Lance squints at him a moment. "I'll allow it," he says. "What else?" 

"Eating." Keith pointedly grabs the last round thing off Lance's tray and bites into it. Lance makes a face at him and Keith shrugs, remorseless. 

"Okay, I'm running out of fingers, here. I like..." He frowns. "Talking? I like talking to you."

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Keith asks with his mouth full. 

"Dunno, I guess I still half-expect us to start fighting whenever we talk." Lance gives an embarrassed shrug. "I dunno when it became fun."

Keith grins. "The fighting wasn't fun?"

Lance smirks. "Okay, sometimes it was. Anything else?"

Keith opens his mouth.

"Don't say Voltron."

He shuts his mouth.

"I can't believe you. Okay, uh..." Lance scratches his chin. "I guess we should try... a dinner date? That's eating and talking."

"Or a picnic."

"Not super into the outdoorsy thing. Unless it's a beach."

"Beach picnic?"

" _ Now _ we're talking."

"We could also actually go out for a movie. Aliens probably have movies."

"Yeah. Theater, too."

Keith laughs. "We’re going to the opera?"

"No, Space Broadway!" Lance giggles. "Okay, we're gonna have to find Space Broadway, for real. Do you think aliens have amusement parks?"

"They've gotta. Imagine the rollercoasters..."

"Exactly! Alien roller coasters. Alien  _ fun houses _ —"

"Alien ferris wheels."

"Yeah." Lance sighs and sits back, smiling at nothing in particular, and his hand closes around Keith's. "We gotta ride a ferris wheel. That's a  _ classic _ date."

"Now we just have to  _ find _ a ferris wheel," Keith notes, and Lance's smile drops. 

"Yeah," he sighs. "Just gotta find one. In all of the universe, somewhere..."

"We'll add it to the list of Earth things to do." Keith pulls Lance's hand into his lap and holds it in both of his own. "For when we go back someday."

Lance smiles at that, a small sad smile, but a hopeful one. If Keith can't distract Lance from his homesickness, then the only other option is to be there for him until it fades into the background on its own. 

Indeed, it only takes another minute for Lance to rally; he stands, stretches, and offers Keith a hand up. 

"Guess this date wasn't a  _ total _ disaster," he says. "Should we head back?"

"Sure." Keith takes it, and once he's standing Lance doesn't let go, just shifts his grip. They walk back to the shuttle hand in hand.

* * *

"Out of everyone Shiro could've sent on this mission," Lance grumbles into the comm, "why  _ us? _ "

"We make a good team," Keith responds.

"Keith, it is ten million degrees too hot for you to be using my own words against me."

"It's only 92 degrees."

" _ Ten million _ ."

Keith snorts, and pauses in his trek to remove his helmet and wipe at the sweat trickling down his forehead. It  _ is _ hot in these tunnels, he'll admit, but it's a dry heat, and really not that bad. It reminds him of the desert, actually—pleasantly, but kind of heavily, too, even though his surroundings are far from desert-like. He supposes this is probably the closest he's ever felt to homesick.

He puts his helmet back on.

"—lly go for a swim right now," Lance is saying as the helmet clicks back into place. "You know? Cool off a bit. I feel like I'm in an oven."

"Wouldn't it be humid if there was water around?" Keith points out. "Then it'd be worse."

"Not if we could go swimming."

Keith peers into a tunnel junction, then takes the left fork. "We can go swimming when we get back to the castle."

"That stupid upside-down pool is  _ not _ the same as a good beach."

"No, but it's water and you can swim in it."

There's a snort—not from Lance, but from Pidge, who's listening in partly in case of emergency, but mostly because she needs to do some sort of tech wizardry from orbit once they reach their goal.

"We aren't having the 'beach versus public pools' conversation again," says Lance. "Nope. Nuh-uh."

"Implying you've had that conversation before," says Pidge.

"We have," says Keith. "Twice."

"Three times," Lance corrects.

"The public fountain discussion doesn't count."

Pidge muffles a giggle. "Do I wanna know?"

"Probably not."

There's a pause as they continue to shuffle through the tunnels.

"Are we there yet?" Lance whines.

"Almost," says Pidge. "You're a couple turns away from the hatch, and then you'll pretty much be in the center of the compound. Shouldn't be too many guards."

"Keith," Lance says, "this is your reminder that if you get hurt again I will literally die."

"If you die, I die," Keith retorts.

"Please neither of you die," Pidge says. "Pretty sure you guys can handle anything down there, it's a science compound, not military."

"There could be druids," says Lance.

"Well, hope there aren't."

"Found it," Keith says, as he turns a final corner and spots the ladder at the end of the tunnel. "Lance?"

"Almost there," Lance responds.

"As much fun as it is listening in on your guys' conversations, it's probably time to shut up," Pidge adds. "I can't block their communications without screwing us over."

"So be stealthy, got it," says Lance. "Easy peasy."

"Keith?"

"Got it," he says, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Godspeed."

"Ready," Lance says after a moment, hushed. "Keith?"

"Ready. Let's go."

He starts climbing.

* * *

"I can't believe," Pidge says slowly, "that you two got through an entire stealth mission successfully, unscathed and unnoticed, only for Lance to collapse from  _ heatstroke _ ."

"We did too well," Keith says quietly, brushing his fingers against the healing pod's surface. "Something had to go wrong."

There won't be any lasting damage; he won't even be in the pod for very long. But seeing him in there again is like a punch to the gut anyway.

Pidge's hand lands on his shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Keith turns away from the pod. "Just feel like I should've seen this coming. He was complaining about the heat."

"Lance complains about everything," Pidge reminds him, eyebrow raised. "There's no way you could've known there was actually anything to worry about."

"Heat is something to worry about." Keith looks back to the pod, forces himself to look away again. "I grew up in a desert. I  _ know _ that."

"And Lance probably doesn't even know the symptoms—"

"He's from Florida."

"Then maybe he thought he could make it back anyway. Maybe he was just distracted." Pidge narrows her eyes. "Either way, there's no way you could've known, and I  _ know _ you know that. What's the real problem?"

"I hate that he's in there. I don't know." Maybe Pidge is right that there's something else wrong here, but he's never been good at reading people, not even himself. He has a sudden, silly wish that Lance were awake to do it for him.

Now he's just getting dramatic. He sighs and gives in to the urge to turn back to the pod, to the silent boy inside. "It's weird," he finishes lamely.

"Hm." Evidently Pidge doesn't know the answer, either, because she falls silent too. They wait; it's only a few more minutes before the pod's cover releases and slides open, and Lance stumbles out. Keith catches him easily.

"I hate that thing," Lance mumbles.

"Me too," says Keith.

"I'll go tell Coran you're awake," says Pidge, and leaves. Lance gets his feet under him quickly but Keith can't bring himself to let go of him yet.

Lance gives him a long look, and then a small smile.

"Not so fun being on the outside, is it?" he asks, and Keith sighs and buries his face in Lance's neck.

"No," he groans.

"And you're always thinking—what if it was worse? What if I was too late?" Lance murmurs into his hair. "So now you know the torture you put me through."

Keith holds him tighter. "Sorry."

Lance shakes his head. "Not your fault," he says quietly. "We're at war. It's gonna happen."

"You could've—I should've thought... I should've done something."

Lance snorts. "You can't stab heatstroke."

Keith pulls back to glare at him. "I should've listened to you. And if you knew, you should've said—"

"You couldn't have done anything about it anyway." Lance gives him a pointed look. "I know you're gonna worry either way—I did—but just so you know."

Keith pauses. "You did?"

"Uh, yeah. When you got hurt I was worried about you? Is that surprising?"

"We weren't together yet."

"We were friends and I thought I could've done more. Gotten there faster, or something." Lance shrugs. "Still think about it sometimes."

"But... you were on the other side of the outpost, you couldn't..." Keith trails off. "That's your point."

"Bingo." Lance kisses him, soft and chaste. "So. Don't worry  _ too _ much."

He already knows he's going to worry entirely too much anyway, because it's Lance, and he... he probably loves him, he realizes now. That's probably what this is.

"I'll try," he says anyway, and Lance smiles, and that makes him feel a little better all on its own.

* * *

Distantly, Keith thinks it's probably a good thing he's first being presented with this choice when the stakes are relatively low. He's still shaken just from Lance's stint in the pod last mission; if lives hung in the balance, he's not sure what he would do.

His life was less complicated when he only cared about one person—when he didn't care about anyone. 

But, neither mission presented to him is likely to be unusually dangerous, and his teammates are plenty capable, and all he has to do is pick who to accompany: Lance, or Shiro. He's only backup in either case, and Hunk or Pidge will go with whoever he doesn't choose, so... functionally, it really doesn't matter. Or so he keeps telling himself. 

"I think you broke him, Allura," Hunk mutters when he's stayed silent for too long. 

"You can do it, Keith, I believe in you," says Pidge. 

"Would... you like me to choose for you?" Allura asks hesitantly, and the threat of it leaves him with the faintest tug in his chest—his choice is already made. He shakes his head. 

"No, I'll go with Lance," he says quickly. 

Evidently this is not what the others expected, because everyone—except Shiro—looks surprised at his choice. Even Lance looks surprised. 

"Then, Hunk, if you could go with Shiro?" says Allura after a moment. 

"Sure," says Hunk, and that's that. Shiro grips Keith's shoulder as they all separate to head down to the hangars. 

"Proud of you," he says quietly, and Keith stops walking. 

"For what?" he asks, and Shiro stops too as the rest continue on. 

"For making friends." Shiro gives him a teasing grin. "Team can be like family, but I know you're slow to warm up to people. It's good you're expanding your horizons."

"Wh—I—You're still my friend, though," Keith stammers, suddenly feeling like he made the wrong choice after all. 

"I know." Shiro smiles. "I've never doubted that. But a year ago you wouldn't have hesitated at that choice."

"It was harder than it should've been," Keith mutters. Shiro rolls his eyes. 

"Stop making excuses. Lance is your friend now and that's a good thing. That's my point."

"Boyfriend," Keith corrects. 

Shiro only smiles wider—and he still doesn't look surprised. "All the better. Good luck out there." He pats Keith's shoulder and continues on to his lion. 

Well, that was awkward. 

"What was that about?" Lance asks the moment Keith flies out to meet him. 

"Shiro felt the need to say he's proud of me," says Keith. 

"Aww. What for?"

"Beats me."

Lance snorts. 

Both missions go smoothly, and Keith does hardly anything; as predicted, there wasn't any real reason to worry. He still has a lingering sense of doubt, though, even once they've all returned to the hangar in one piece—he'd like to think he'll never have to choose. He'd like to think that if it came down to it, he could save them both—that he could save them all. 

Realistically, he knows that may not be possible. 

Worry is a horrible feeling, he decides. It just sits there in your stomach, weighing you down for no reason. He used to be  _ free _ of that weight. 

"Something wrong?" Lance asks him quietly as they gather on the bridge for debrief, and he wonders if he could give this up to lose that weight—let alone if he'd  _ want _ to. The thought only makes it heavier, so, probably not. 

"I'll tell you later," he says. 

Later comes all too soon, though, in his room, where there's no escape. Lance comes and sits on his bed with him and Keith feels weirdly afraid of him—like if he says what he's thinking it will be too much, somehow. 

"So, what's up?" Lance asks, and Keith just groans and buries his head in his hands. "I take it you don't know, then. Or can't figure out how to say it. Time for twenty questions?"

"It never takes that many," Keith mumbles into his hands.

"I  _ know _ you know what I meant, we've already had that conversation. Okay." Lance shifts on the bed. "Dunno if this question will help, or if it's even what this is about, but I've been wondering, so... why'd you pick me? For the missions today?"

_ That _ Keith has figured out the answer to, at least, but this doesn't seem like a good time to admit it. He lifts his head to look at Lance, who's watching him patiently.

"Why were you surprised?" he counters instead.

Lance blinks. "Why wouldn't I be? Shiro's your favorite person."

"You're my favorite person," Keith says immediately, without even thinking. Which he'd kind of subconsciously realized by now, yeah, but saying it almost feels like a betrayal. "I mean, Shiro's still important to me. A lot. But you're you."

"But... he's Shiro," Lance says, like Keith is as insane as he feels.

"He's not all I have anymore," he tries to explain. "For a while he was, and then he was gone, and then I got him back and... yeah, he was most important. But now I have you guys.  _ Especially _ you."

"...Keith..." Lance whispers, looking like he's about to tear up, and Keith shakes his head as he turns on the bed to face him.

"That isn't the problem, anyway," he continues, taking Lance's hand in his own. "Well, it kind of is. It's related?"

Lance shakes his head slowly. "If it isn't that, what is it?"

"A mess, is what it is," Keith says flatly. Lance snorts.

"Okay. Do you think you can explain, or do you want me to keep asking questions?"

Keith sighs. "I can. It's just. Hard."

"Come on." Lance tips over sideways to lie on the bed, tugging Keith down with him. They lie side by side, leaving Keith free to stare at the ceiling all he wants. Lance's hand is warm in his.

"Okay, tell me," says Lance, and Keith takes a deep breath.

"I'm worried someday I'll have to choose for real," he says carefully, "and I'll hesitate and lose you both. Or I pick one and lose the other. I don't want to lose either of you. And I'm... not used to worrying about people, multiple people, and feelings are hard." He pauses. "I guess that's it."

"Wow," Lance says mildly, squeezing his hand. "Okay. That's more than I expected, actually."

Keith doesn't know how to feel about that. "...What did you expect?"

"Dunno. I just didn't consider you'd be having trouble with this 'cause I'm used to worrying about everyone all the time."

Keith sits straight up, looks around and down at Lance. "How do you  _ survive!? _ "

Lance laughs. "You get used to it. You distract yourself and it goes away for a while until something reminds you again."

Keith lies back down. "Everyone."

"Yep. You don't?"

"I do, but not like  _ this. _ I feel like I'm dying and nothing even happened today."

Lance rolls onto his side and gives him that brilliant smile. "You'll survive this," he says. "I promise."

Some part of Keith's mind is sure that if Lance says it, it must be true, and it quiets his doubts somewhat. Just… not quite enough.

Love, he decides, isn't really one emotion; it's a dozen, all at once, and some feel good but some don't, and you don't get to pick which ones to feel. It's a package deal. 

"You've got your thinking face on," Lance notes.

God, what if someday he has to choose?

"Can I tell you something that scares me?" Keith says slowly, and he's not really sure where he's going with this because he's already  _ said _ he's scared of that hypothetical choice.

"Always." Lance is watching him closely. Keith turns to face him properly, looks into those blue eyes, steels himself.

"I think I love you," is what he finally whispers.

Lance's eyes widen, flicking between Keith's. He supposes this is the point where he ought to be scared of rejection, or at least not getting an "I love you" back, but when he is so much more afraid that Lance will die when he's not there to save him, all else falls away. And Lance takes his time to respond, but Keith trusts him. He does.

And he knows Lance is capable on his own, but he knew it of Shiro too, and that didn't stop him from being held captive by the galra for an entire year. Keith will worry either way, and he didn't read the fine print but this is what he signed up for nonetheless.

God, he's a mess.

"You mean it?" Lance whispers finally, and Keith nods.

"Yeah. I mean it." And, as an afterthought, "You don't have to say it back." It hasn't been very long, after all. Just because Keith dives headfirst into everything he does doesn't mean Lance feels the same.

"I," Lance starts, "don't... I don't know. I don't know yet. I like you, a lot. So much. Um." He looks away, face red, pouting slightly. "Sorry?"

"It's okay," Keith says. He scoots in closer and lets Lance bend in to meet him, a kiss with no hesitation. And maybe nothing's been resolved, and maybe Keith is just going to be a mess forever, but at least for now Lance is here.

Patience yields focus. He can be patient for Lance.

* * *

"Y'know," Lance says, "I know you don't like all the diplomatic stuff we have to do, but this is pretty nice."

"You're saying that 'cause we're on a beach," Keith points out. The latest planet to join the coalition is dotted with tiny volcanic islands, and the sand is black but the ocean is a brilliant turquoise; the reception celebrating their presence here is  _ literally _ on a beach. Their hosts and other guests are mingling in bare feet, and they were encouraged to do the same. It's late afternoon, almost evening, and the breeze is mild.

"Well, yeah." Lance shrugs easily. "But it's nice, and you're not  _ usually _ this clingy."

Keith tightens his grip on Lance's arm. "Can you blame me?"

"I'm not blaming you." Lance's voice is gentle. "I definitely don't  _ mind _ it. I'm just wondering why."

Keith frowns at the waves, lapping gently just shy of their feet. "A lot has happened lately."

"Mm," Lance agrees.

"And I'm just..." Keith waves a hand vaguely.

"Not over it?" Lance guesses.

"Yeah. I guess." Keith shrugs. "I just want to stay close to you right now."

Lance giggles under his breath. "You're cute."

"I'm serious!"

"You're  _ too _ serious." Lance elbows him gently, dislodging his grip. "Remember what I said about distracting yourself from worrying?"

"Yeah." Keith takes his hand instead. "I'm not good at that."

"One track mind, I know." Lance glances around before giving Keith a peck on the cheek. "Let's take a walk."

"But—"

"It's fine, the party's winding down anyway." Lance looks up, waving to catch Allura's eye; once he does, he lifts their linked hands and gestures down the beach. 

Allura nods. 

"See? Fine." Lance starts walking along the water's edge—in it, really, where the waves reach up onto the sand—forcing Keith to follow. "Relax."

Keith gives him a look. 

"At least try," Lance amends. "Make yourself think about something else. Something happy."

Keith suddenly can't remember a time he's been happy, ever. It must show on his face because Lance bursts out laughing. 

"Oh no, oh, Keith," he splutters. "Don't—I know you've been happy before. I promise."

"How do you know?" Keith mutters to the sand, embarrassed. 

"Babe, if you think I don't remember every time you've smiled—it's really obvious when you're happy."

Keith looks up, raises an eyebrow. "Every time?"

"Every time." Lance bites his lip and looks away. "You have... um, a beautiful smile. Really." His eyes flick back to Keith. "And you light up like a Christmas tree and it's really fucking cute."

"...Oh."

"'Oh?' I drop all that on you and all you say is 'oh?'" Lance gives him a tiny, lopsided grin, red-faced, and kicks at the wave lapping at his feet, splashing Keith. 

"I'm flattered?" Keith tries, even as he tries to dodge the spray without letting go of Lance's hand. "Thank you?"

Lance laughs and stops kicking water. "You're such a dork."

"No, you."

"...You really do spend too much time with Pidge." Lance sighs happily and they continue walking again. " _ I'm _ happy right now. Are you?"

"Yeah," Keith replies without thinking—and then remembers why they're having this conversation, and his gut twists itself into knots again. He's watching the beach in front of them but he can see Lance looking at him out of the corner of his eye. 

"Almost had it," Lance sighs. "I think it's just gonna take time, Keith."

Keith grumbles something that isn't really words. Lance squeezes his hand.

"You said you weren't used to it, so you just have to  _ get _ used to it," he continues. "There isn't really a magic pill for worrying. I wish there was, though." He kicks at the waves, incidentally splashing them both. 

"You seem to have it under control," Keith says. Lance seems to have everything under control, really. He always knows what to say, what to do. It's like he has everything planned in advance, while Keith is just making it up as he goes. 

Lance snorts. "Are we really having this conversation again? Yes, I worry about you, Mr. Dive-In-Headfirst. Just because I know how to handle it doesn't mean it doesn't happen." He stops again and turns to Keith. They're a ways away from the reception now, enough that the sound of it is muffled by distance. "You get that, right? I worry about you, for real. Okay? I care about you a lot."

Keith blinks at him. "I never doubted that." 

Lance blinks back. "Oh."

Huh. So, even now, they can still misunderstand each other.

"Okay. So..." Lance's voice trails off.

"I know you can take care of yourself, too," Keith says. "I  _ know _ that. Even if you ignore that you're getting heatstroke—"

"I can't believe you're  _ still _ getting on my case about that—"

"Heatstroke, Lance!" Keith flings out his free hand. "But even for that, I was there, and Pidge was there, so—I mean, you wouldn't have ignored it if you were on your own. Right?"

"Of course not," Lance says. "I don't wanna collapse when I'm alone. But I figured if I didn't make it back on my own, you'd keep me safe."

"I would," Keith says. "I did. But if I'm not there... I  _ know _ you can take care of yourself, but..." He's not sure who he's trying to convince anymore.

"It scared you." Lance steps closer, wraps his arms loosely around Keith's waist. "I'm sorry, Keith. I  _ wouldn't _ do that alone. You—you remember that conversation we had, back when we started being friends? About acting differently in different situations?"

"Vaguely." Keith rests his hands on Lance's shoulders. "I think I understand it better now."

"Well," Lance says, and leans in, forehead to forehead. "I trust you. So, I'm different with you, than without you."

"More reckless, you mean."

"No! Just different. I know you'll catch me if I fall." He smiles in Keith's peripheral vision. "Think of it like this: I'm one way alone, and another with friends, and another with you." His voice drops to a whisper. "There's a version of me that exists just for you."

Keith's brain stops functioning entirely. His heart pounds in his ears but Lance's soft laugh is still audible above it. It's only after Lance kisses him softly that he remembers to breathe, and gasps, making Lance laugh again. 

"I love you," Keith says weakly as Lance quiets. 

"I know." His words are gentle despite the flash of a cringe on his face. Not there yet, Keith supposes. 

"Don't ever leave me," he whispers anyway. 

"I won't," Lance says, and this without hesitation. "I promise."

The sun is very nearly set now, casting everything in golden light; it suits Lance. Makes him glow. He seems ethereal, untouchable, but he leans in and kisses Keith again anyway.

God, he's so lucky to have this.

"Ready to head back?" Lance asks, eventually. Keith can only nod, and they meander back towards the reception, hand in hand, as the sun slips away behind the horizon.

* * *

Keith doesn't realize until later—so late at night that it's definitely morning, when Lance sneaks into his room just to dig his bony elbows into Keith's ribs and drool on his pillow—that Lance had managed to thoroughly distract him. He doesn't mind, though. Maybe he even feels just a little bit better now, or maybe it's just that Lance is safe in his arms.

Either way, he sleeps.

* * *

Pidge groans loudly for the third time in the past ten minutes, and Keith glances behind him as he bites back a laugh.

"You know," he says, "for piloting the guardian spirit of the forest—"

"I'm complaining a lot,  _ I know, _ but she's not the guardian spirit of  _ humidity _ ," she retorts before he can finish, glaring at him. They've been trekking through this rainforest for a solid hour now, and their mission target is still a good half hour away. She looks miserable.

"The Olkari would be so disappointed in you, Pidge," he teases.

"This isn't  _ their _ forest, they can suck it."

"Pay attention, you two!" Coran reminds them. Keith dutifully faces forward again.

In fairness, they  _ are _ carrying a fair amount of gear, and it  _ is _ uncomfortably warm and damp here. The walk has been pretty quiet, at least. They're just supposed to retrieve some raw materials, not take out an outpost or free the planet.

"You are okay, though, right?" he asks quietly after a minute. 

"Yeah," she responds in kind. "No heatstroke today, I promise."

Satisfied, he returns his attention to the trek. 

It's almost another fifteen minutes of walking before they finally spot a cave entrance. They pause outside it to rest a moment, and Pidge brings up the sonic map Lance got them earlier.

"Coran," she says. "We're here."

"Good!" he responds. "It's likely the ore in the rocks will interfere with communications once you're inside. You remember what to look for, yes?"

"Iridescent silver, runs in veins, glows slightly," Keith lists. "That it?"

"That's it! Good luck, now."

"Thanks," Pidge says drily. They head in.

"Cooler in here," Keith comments.

"Thank god."

The ore they're looking for won't be this shallow, but Keith still keeps an eye out, shining his light here and there as they climb lower and lower into the stone. In some places the slope is shallow; in others, they use their jetpacks to keep them from tumbling into the darkness below.

They're near the spot marked on Pidge's map when something catches Keith's eye.

"Pidge," he says slowly, and she pauses her descent ahead, "is that... a flower?"

They're perched awkwardly in the middle of a steep slope right now, so she has to jet back up to see where he's pointing his light; a little ways up on the wall, there's a vein of dull white, but spotted along it are places of pink and red. In one particular spot the pink seems to grow in petals, erupting this way and that in the stone, but in the center coming together to curl loosely in the shape of a rose. Something pings in the back of his mind.

"It looks like rhodochrosite," she says thoughtfully.

"...Which is?"

"It's a mineral, dude."

He gives her a look. She shrugs.

"Dad had a rock phase. It's cool, but it's not what we're looking for."

He makes a decision, and shrugs the ore transporter off his shoulders. "Hand me the tools, I wanna take a chunk."

She raises an eyebrow. "Never took you for a rock collector," she says, but hands them over anyway. 

He sets up the climbing gear quickly—his jetpack could certainly get him up there but it wouldn't keep him steady—before pulling out the extractor. It cuts a rough chunk of stone around the "rose," which he hands down to Pidge before climbing down. 

She watches him silently as he uses the laser cutter to refine the chunk into a neat circle, small and flat. He gets the feeling she's judging him, but it's embarrassing enough that he stopped the mission for this, he's not going to  _ explain _ too. Luckily, she doesn't ask, just shakes her head slowly as he tucks the stone gently into the pouch at his hip.

It's not until after dinner that night that he gets the chance to give Lance the stone; he'd rather do this when they're alone, after all. He's endured enough judgement from Pidge already today. 

"What's up?" Lance asks when Keith enters his room with purpose. Keith reaches into his pouch and pulls out the stone.

"I got you a rose," he says.

Lance's face opens in shock. He takes the stone, cupping it in his hands, and just... stares at it. No words, no expression. Just... staring.

Keith is beginning to wonder if he misread Lance's desires, after all.

"I... know it's not a  _ real _ rose," he says. "But it kinda looks like one, and I saw it and thought of you, so, um..."

Lance holds up a finger, so Keith falls quiet. He's still looking at the rock.

"Keith," he whispers finally. "This is literally the best gift I've ever received."

Keith smiles tentatively. "So you like it?"

"Like it? Keith, I  _ love _ it. I can't believe you actually got me a rose. Oh my god." Lance gently turns it over in his hands, examining it from all sides. "It's... it's a rock, but it's a rose. This is so cool. I love it."

Lance finally looks up, and his eyes are watering. Okay, so Keith definitely got this right.

"Good surprise?" he asks, stepping closer.

"Best surprise." Lance leans in and kisses him, cradling the rose between them. Keith is content to melt into him, soft and slow, but evidently Lance isn't done. He pulls back for a moment and looks at Keith, hard. Appraising, with the barest hint of a smile.

"What?" Keith whispers nervously. 

Lance grins then, eyes bright. "I love you."

Keith sucks in a breath involuntarily, heart stuttering in its pace. He pulls Lance in closer, hiding his face in Lance's shoulder, and Lance laughs giddily in his ear as he worms an arm out from between them to set the rose on his table. 

Keith can't even remember the last time someone said those words to him. 

"I-I love you too," Keith blurts belatedly. 

"I know!" Lance giggles in his ear, then pulls back abruptly. "Wait, I need to say it again. Keith." He puts his hands on Keith's shoulders, grinning so wide it has to be painful. "I  _ love _ you. I love you!"

Keith's heart skips more beats than is probably healthy. He laughs and pushes Lance's face away. 

"Stop, you're gonna kill me," he gasps. 

"But I love you." Lance ducks away from his pushing arm and gets in close again, wrapping his arms around Keith's waist. He starts kissing Keith's face, wherever he can reach, even as Keith tries to get away. "I love you, I love you, I love—"

"I get it!" Keith splutters. "I love you too!"

"Good," Lance says, grinning smugly, and finally ceases his attack. He leans his forehead against Keith's, calmer now. "Thanks for the rose. I didn't think you'd actually get me one."

"Honestly, neither did I," Keith says, and Lance laughs softly. 

* * *

"Keith!" Lance bursts into his room unannounced, as usual. "I just realized, I only told you I love you after you  _ gave _ me something, and I don't want to act like it's because of that—I mean, I was very touched, like really really touched, but it's not like I love you  _ because _ you gave me a gift? Like, I was kinda thinking it anyway—"

"Lance," Keith interrupts, a little alarmed. "I didn't... I didn't think it was just because of the rose."

Lance freezes in panic-mode, arms comically outstretched. "Oh." He relaxes into a more casual pose. "Really?"

"Yeah?" Keith sets his tablet aside and stands to meet him. "It didn't even occur to me. I know you're not that shallow."

"Oh," Lance says again. "That's like, the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

Keith raises an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"No, probably not," Lance admits. He gestures for Keith to come closer. "C'mere, I totally ran out on Hunk when I realized but I want a hug before I go back."

Keith rolls his eyes, but he gives Lance a hug and a kiss on the cheek, too, for good measure. Lance beams.

"See ya later, babe," he says, and he's off, Keith's whirlwind of a boyfriend out the door again.

Keith only spends a minute—or two—smiling at the doorway before he returns to his reading.

* * *

"So," Shiro says into the dark silence, eventually. "How's Lance?"

Keith shifts, trying to find a more comfortable position in the cramped space. "This is bad enough as it is, you don't have to make it awkward, too."

Shiro chuckles. "I've been meaning to ask for a while," he says, "but I haven't had the opportunity until now."

Until now, he says. Keith shifts again. "You couldn't just find me after dinner or something? It  _ had _ to wait until we got trapped in a stupid dumpster?"

It's been a weird mission. 

Pidge is already on her way to get them out, but not before laughing her head off over the comms. At least their helmets block out the smell.

"Would you rather sit here in total silence?" Shiro asks.

"Yes."

"Uh-huh. So, how's Lance?"

Keith heaves a sigh. "Fine."

"Fine, or  _ fine? _ "

"Shiro!" Keith kicks out in the direction he thinks Shiro's in while Shiro laughs.

"Come on, give me something, here," he says through his laughter. "You're happy, right?"

" _ Yes _ ," Keith says, probably more sullen than need be.

"Oh, very convincing."

"I  _ am _ happy. You're nosy."

"It's my job as your best friend to pry into your love life."

"You're lucky the rest of the team doesn't know you're really like this."

Shiro huffs a laugh. "I think they've figured it out by now. But you need to give me details."

"What do you  _ want? _ " Keith asks, slumping further into the trash. "An alphabetized list of all the times we've kissed?"

"Oh, so you've kissed?"

Keith sighs. " _ Shiro _ ."

"That's a big step in a relationship, okay!"

"Depends on the person," Keith mumbles. 

"It's a big step for  _ you _ ," Shiro counters, and he's probably right. "So? What else?"

"What exactly are you asking?!"

"We-ell," Shiro drawls, "how about, what base have you gotten to?"

Keith kicks him. "Are you serious? Are we in middle school?!"

"Ow, ow—c'mon, I wanna know."

"I don't  _ know _ what the bases are, and you're  _ not _ going to tell me."

"Fine, fine," Shiro huffs. "But do you looooove him?"

"Yes," Keith says shortly. 

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah."

"Did you tell him?"

"Yeah."

"Did he say it back?"

"Yeah."

There's a long, long pause. 

"They grow up so fast," Shiro whispers, and Keith kicks him again. "Ow, sorry, couldn't resist. You guys are just... more than I expected."

"It’s been  _ months _ since we got together. Besides, we could die any day," Keith says sullenly. "What's the point if we're not serious about it?"

"Well, some people would go the other route. Take what you can while you can." Shiro hums thoughtfully. "I would've thought Lance would be like that..."

"I know what you're thinking, and he isn't," Keith says, suddenly feeling defensive. "He acts like he would be, but he isn't."

"Okay, okay, I believe you," Shiro says quickly. "...I guess I  _ haven't _ seen him flirt with any pretty aliens in a while. Or aliens in general. Or Allura, specifically."

Keith heaves a sigh. "Surprise!"

"It's not that I didn't think he was capable of monogamy, or anything," Shiro adds. "It's just—okay, here's a question. What are you two going to do after the war?"

"We're going to Florida to see his family," Keith says cautiously—Shiro sounds like he's trying to prove a point. "And the beaches, I guess. I don't know what we're doing after that."

Shiro lets out a slow breath. "You're really serious about each other."

"What, 'cause we're gonna go to the beach together?"

"You're making plans for the future, Keith. With each other."

"Yeah?"

This time it's Shiro nudging him with a foot. "Are you going to get married?"

"I guess?" He hasn't actually thought about that—a ring and a piece of paper are just symbols of what's already there, he figures, but Lance will probably want to. So he supposes they will, someday.

"You guess?"

"It doesn't matter to  _ me, _ but it probably does to Lance, so if we stay on Earth I guess we will."

"It doesn't matter to you?"

Keith throws his head back, incidentally banging his helmet against the dumpster wall. "Why do you  _ care? _ "

"We've never got to have this conversation before," Shiro protests, but softly. "C'mon. I don't know this stuff about you. You already know  _ my _ opinions on things."

"Just because this is the first time you've been single since you were fourteen doesn't mean you can just," Keith waves his hands, though he knows Shiro can't see, "vicariously be in a relationship through us."

"I can try."

"Please don't."

There's a pause. 

"Just one question?" Shiro continues. "Why  _ don't _ you care about marriage?"

"Because if you love someone you're not going to leave them anyway," Keith grumbles. Shiro doesn't press further.

* * *

It's one of those days when everyone is a weird mood.

Hunk is making a mess of the kitchen. Lance is hovering around Keith, fidgeting but not  _ saying _ anything. Pidge is nowhere to be found, as she always is after Matt has come to visit and left again; Shiro is missing too, and Keith has half a mind to go find him except that Allura is already looking. And he's really not in the right mindset to be talking Shiro down from whatever mental ledge he's perched on today, anyway, because he's still stuck on their last conversation—he's not sure how to bring any of it up to Lance, or if he should. And Lance's hovering isn't helping.

"What is it?" Keith asks finally, fighting to keep his voice even.

"I asked Kolivan about your mom last mission," Lance blurts.

Well, that jars him right out of his rut. "What?"

"I asked Kolivan about your mom, last mission," Lance repeats slower. He rubs the back of his head. "I've just been thinking, lately, 'cause you got me that rose, I wanted to get you something in return..."

"What does that have to do with my mom?"

"Well, you don't know who she is, right? Or like, where, or... anything other than that she's at least part galra and your knife belonged to her?"

"Yeah...?" Keith isn't sure where he's going with this.

"It's just, you don't... have a family, and, y'know, my family is really important to me, so I thought... well. Kolivan wasn't totally sure because it's not like she was gonna tell him she went and had a baby with one of the locals on a mission, y'know?" Lance shrugs. "But he's pretty sure it's this one Blade named Krolia? She's out on an assignment somewhere, but she's still alive, so..."

And then Keith gets it. "You found my mom for me."

"Yeah! Or at least, found out  _ about _ her. I mean, obviously I couldn't go get her." Lance chuckles awkwardly. "Even though you went through the trials and stuff, I know the whole reason for it got kinda... you got sidetracked, so. Look, I just wanted you to have a family, y'know? If you wanted it."

Keith is reeling. He hadn't thought to follow up, to ask further—but Lance had. Of course he had.

"I know it's not much of a gift," Lance continues, but Keith kisses him before he can finish. He doesn't pull back until he's satisfied that he's stopped Lance's rambling, and then a little longer for good measure.

"It's perfect," he says. "Thank you, Lance."

"Y-yeah," Lance says, a little breathless. "No problem."

"I love you."

This time, Lance just grins. "I love you, too."

* * *

"Keith," says Pidge, "how come your rhodochrosite is in Lance's room?"

Keith looks up from his bowl of goo. "My what?"

"The rock that looks like a rose. Lance has it?"

"Yeah...?"

Pidge's nose scrunches. "How'd he get it?"

Hunk, the only other one in the room right now, is watching the conversation intently. He looks amused, but Keith is about as confused as Pidge seems to be.

"I... gave it to him?"

She looks at him for a long moment.

"Um," she says. "I know it's a rock, but it  _ looks _ like a rose, and... you know how Lance is."

"...Yeah?"

Hunk starts grinning.

"Then..." Pidge is starting to look alarmed. "You know giving roses to people is usually a romantic thing, right?"

" _ Yeah? _ " That's why he did it in the first place.

Pidge's jaw drops, though. She stares at him, and then she slaps her palms loudly against the tabletop.

"Oh my  _ god! _ " she hisses. "You have a  _ crush _ on him!"

It dawns on him, finally: somehow, Pidge has  _ no idea _ they're together. It's not like they announced it, no, but Hunk had figured it out anyway and Keith had up and told Shiro, and Allura hasn’t mentioned it specifically but there’s no way Shiro didn’t tell her (and if not him, the mice), so he'd just... assumed Pidge had noticed, too. They haven't been subtle in the slightest.

"You could say that," Keith says with a growing smirk. Hunk is laughing in the background; Pidge is still aghast.

"But you—that's not—oh my god, does he  _ know? _ Did you  _ tell him? _ What did he do, holy shit." She clenches her fists in her hair. " _ When did this happen. _ "

"Pidge," Hunk interrupts finally, still chuckling, "I know you're usually focused on, like, your projects and stuff. But you hang out with Keith and Lance a lot, and they could not more obviously be dating."

"They're  _ what? _ " Pidge slumps into the nearest chair. "Since  _ when!? _ "

Keith shrugs. "Officially... months? Getting close to a year, probably."

"Oh my god." Pidge covers her face with her hands.

"It was obvious before they admitted it, too," Hunk adds.

"Oh my  _ god _ ." She drops her hands, suddenly stricken. " _ Don't tell Lance _ ."

Keith grins, slowly. "How can I  _ not _ tell my boyfriend you didn't know we're dating?"

"Oh god.  _ Boyfriend _ ." Pidge covers her face again and slides further into her chair. "I can't believe this."

"Can't believe what?" Lance chooses that moment to saunter in, and Keith sits up, grinning in anticipation. Hunk starts snickering again.

"Nothing!" Pidge yelps, sitting up too.

"Lance," says Keith.

"No!"

"Guess what?"

"Keith!"

"Pidge didn't notice—"

"—IT'S NOTHING OH MY GOD—"

"—That we're dating."

Pidge groans loudly and slouches again. Lance, wide-eyed, looks from Keith to her.

And then he bursts into laughter, quickly accompanied by Hunk. Pidge slides right off her chair under the table. Keith ducks down sideways to look, grinning.

"You good?" he asks.

"I live here now," she grumbles, curled up on the floor.

Lance, meanwhile, comes around the table to sit on Keith's right, like always. Keith sits up and they link hands where Pidge, still under the table, can see.

"I can't believe this," she whispers, as Keith resumes eating.

* * *

Keith is bored.

He's the only paladin on the bridge right now. Shiro's planetside doing his leader-of-Voltron thing, and Keith doesn't like that he's alone but he's also glad he’s not the one sitting through endless alliance negotiations. Hunk and Pidge are off fixing something as a sign of goodwill—Keith would just get in the way. And Lance? Scanning an old outpost on the moon, which can only be done effectively by the blue lion and is a one-person job anyway.

So Keith is here, on the bridge, with Allura and Coran. All dressed up with nowhere to go.

"Keith," Allura says, eventually. "While there's only the three of us here, there's something I'd like to talk to you about."

Keith pokes idly at his holographic display. "Yeah? What?"

"Lance."

His first instinct is to groan—not Allura  _ too. _ But he bites it back, instead sitting up to turn and look at her. Coran is ostensibly ignoring the conversation, but he's far too still to not be listening.

"What about Lance?" Keith asks.

"Your relationship with him."

"...What about my relationship with him?"

Allura sighs. "I think you know what I mean."

Keith throws his head back and does groan this time. "I know you're an alien, but humans can't read minds, and especially not me."

"Don't talk to the princess like that!" Coran scolds—yeah, he was definitely listening.

"I meant," Allura continues calmly, "that while I have no intention of discouraging your relationship, as you both have proven you’re serious about it and—with only minor mishaps—that you can handle your duties in spite of it... I  _ did _ see how you reacted when Shiro disappeared."

Okay, Keith is starting to see where this is going. 

"Since you were able to find him in the end, thanks to your devotion, I cannot fault you for that, either." She's being extremely delicate about this. "But given your reactions at the time to both your fellow paladins and our valued allies, I would like your assurance that you will do your best to remain... rational, should something happen."

_ Don't blow up at members of the coalition, _ the little voice in his head that sounds like Lance translates.

"If either of them ever go missing, I'm never gonna stop looking for them," he says. "Not until I find them."

"...But?"

He sighs. "But I'll do my best to 'remain rational.'"

"I'll hold you to that," she says, but she's smiling, so Keith figures he's in the clear. He slumps in his seat again. 

It's a long few minutes before Shiro's voice comes urgently over the comms.

"There are assassins in the delegation," he says, tense. "I could use some backup."

"Keith, go!" Allura says, but he's already out of his seat, heading for the zipline.

And then Lance yelps.

"I'm being ambushed!" he shouts, and Keith freezes.

"Lance?!"

"Pidge, we gotta go!" Hunk shouts.

"We can't! This whole structure will collapse if we move now!"

"Stay put, you two," Allura calls tightly. "Finish your mission."

Shiro gives a pained shout. Keith jerks.

It's happening. The thing he fears most—it's happening—

"Go to Shiro!" Lance shouts, clearly despite the chaos. "I can handle this, Keith, go to Shiro!"

"Go, Keith!" Allura urges, and Keith sucks in a breath, jams on his helmet, and goes.

"Lance," he begins, even as he's climbing into his lion's seat.

"I'll be fine," Lance grunts. "I promise."

The red lion launches, and Keith turns her planetside. "I love you," he says, barely registering that everyone can hear.

"Love you, too," says Lance, and then he hollers a war cry. Heart in his throat, Keith switches to a private line with Shiro.

"Shiro?" he calls. "Shiro?!"

There's no response, but there are the faint sounds of shouting and shooting coming through instead of static. Shiro's helmet is intact. Keith isn't sure if that bodes well or not.

He shouldn't have hesitated. He could be already there by now, with Shiro, instead of...

He pushes his lion faster. They almost crash more than land, and Keith leaps out and starts running. The meeting was being held in some sort of palace, and the halls are full of nervously milling aliens; he follows the sound of blaster fire, pushing through the crowds heedless of who he's elbowing.

He almost trips over Shiro's helmet—it's lying on the floor just outside a door marked with blaster fire, all on its own. Keith picks it up and pushes the door open.

He barely gets his shield up in time; the door is immediately bombarded with shots, and he takes a second to look around—the fallen furniture, the telltale glimpse of black and white—before he's ducking and and running for it. He slides into the dubious cover of a tipped refreshments table, right next to Shiro—he's nursing a burn on his shoulder, but it doesn't look too bad.

"Got your helmet," Keith says, handing it over.

"Thanks," Shiro says, taking it one-handed. "As you can see, we're a bit pinned down right now."

Keith looks between him and the handful of diplomats also behind the table. A stray laser zings over their heads.

"Yeah, I noticed," he says. He actives the team comm again. "Guys, I'm with Shiro. He's okay."

"Pidge and I are on our way to help Lance now," Hunk responds over the distant sounds of battle.

Keith pauses a moment. There's no response from Lance.

He takes a deep breath and turns back to Shiro. There's nothing he can do right now but solve the problem in front of him.

"Can you move your arm?"

Shiro tries and winces. It's the shoulder above his galra arm, too, which leaves him weaponless.

"I'll make do," he says. Keith rolls his eyes.

"It's probably better if you don't." He glances over at the diplomats; they're unarmed, too. Guess it's up to him. "How many are there?"

"Five, I think," Shiro says, and Keith nods and tries to ignore the shouting over the comms. "Don't even try to take them head on. You'll get shot too."

"...Any other ways into this room?"

"Yes." This time it's one of the diplomats who answers. "But it's not any closer than this one." They point to another door on an adjacent wall; the assassins are in the far corner.

Shiro nods vaguely upward. "There's some sort of balcony over there."

Keith peeks over the table; he only gets a second to look, but there is indeed a balcony—or, at least, a window and a railing—above the assassins. Okay. Since none of them have ranged weapons, he'll have to get close, and the balcony isn't too high up for an ambush. He turns to the diplomat who spoke earlier.

"How do I get up there?" he asks.

* * *

Keith had muted his comms, eventually, to focus on the task at hand. By the time he turned them back on, as he and Shiro headed back into orbit, the line was quiet.

Which means he has no idea what he's going to find as he helps Shiro to the infirmary. He's  _ pretty _ sure Allura would've  _ said _ something if Lance had been... hurt, but then, she might also have been waiting until he finished his mission, waiting to tell him in person...

He's holding his breath as they enter the infirmary. And there's Lance, sitting by a readied pod, a little worse for wear but  _ alive. _ He stands when they enter and Keith almost collapses in relief.

"Hey," Lance says. "We all made it, see?"

Keith bites his lip and nods. He gets Shiro into the pod, waits until it's closed and Shiro's face has relaxed, and then he turns to Lance and buries his face in his shoulder and groans loudly.

"You sound like a dying whale," Lance comments softly, with a hint of a laugh, but he holds Keith as tightly as Keith's holding him.

There's a lot Keith could say—how fucking worried he was, how relieved he is, how shaken from all of it—but he thinks Lance probably knows already. So he just keeps his arms wrapped around him tight, and breathes, until his heart stops pounding in his ears.

His legs and feet are starting to ache from standing still for so long by the time he surfaces, thought he still keeps hold of Lance's arms when he steps back.

"Feeling better?" Lance asks.

Keith looks him up and down. "You're really not hurt?"

"A couple of little bruises, maybe. Nothing I need a pod for."

Keith lets out a breath. "Okay. I'm okay."

"You sure? I'm sorry for worrying you again."

Keith shakes his head. "It was going to happen sooner or later. You... you were right, you can handle things on your own."

Lance grins and kisses his cheek. "I can, but if you're gonna go through a clingy phase again, I won't complain."

Keith elbows him and Lance laughs, and Keith really does feel better. It happened, and they all got through okay.

If it happens again, they can get through it again, too.

* * *

"So I guess congratulations are in order?" Hunk says as Keith enters the kitchen in the morning. Keith pauses.

"For me? For what?"

"Uh, you and Lance?" Hunk says. "Dropping the L-bomb?"

Keith stares at him blankly.

"Love," Hunk clarifies, handing him a bowl of goo. "The L-bomb is saying you love each other."

"Oh." Keith squints at him. "Lance didn't tell you already?"

"I mean, he told me he realized, but then he got embarrassed about it, so I figured he hadn't said it to you before. So that would've been the first time."

"It wasn't," Keith says around his spoon. "It's not even a new thing."

"Dude."

"He told me the moment he realized, I think."

"Oh. Yeah alright, cool." Hunk gestures with the goo nozzle. "By the way, Allura's in the dining room and she wanted to talk to you."

Keith just about chokes on his goo. "Oh."

"She didn't say what about, but she also didn't seem angry, so I don't think you're—" Hunk turns on the faucet to wash his bowl— "in hot water."

"...You’ve bowled me over with how weak that was, Hunk."

"'Wishy-washy' was  _ right there _ and you went for 'weak?'" Hunk shakes his head, grinning. "Just go. You'll live."

Keith grimaces, but he goes, breakfast in hand. Sure enough, Allura's waiting at the dining room table, letting the mice clean out her empty bowl.

"Keith!" she says. "Good morning."

"Hi," he says cautiously. "Hunk said you wanted to talk to me."

"Yes." She folds her hands on the table in front of her. "Regarding the missions yesterday."

Oh, shit. Keith swallows and sits. 

"Um," he says. "It turned out okay?"

She nods. "It did. You don't need to look so worried, Keith. I know it's not easy to watch the people you love go to war."

He straightens up. "So..."

"So, your response to Lance and Shiro both being in danger could have been better. But, it could have been much worse." She smiles. "I expect that if it happens again, you will be faster in making a decision—until then, you did well deciding at all."

"Oh." That went so much better than he expected. "Thanks, I guess."

She nods. "While I'm on the topic—there's no need for you two to be sneaking around in the middle of the night. No one minds if you share a bed."

"Oh." He's saying that a lot this morning, but this at least he has an answer for. "I don't think we thought anyone would, we're just not really ready to make it, uh, official. Or, we weren't, at least. I'll mention it to Lance later."

"Fair enough." She stands. "I'll see you at training, then."

"Later." He waves as she leaves. Lance enters almost as soon as she's gone.

"Yeah, so, I heard like half of that," he says, coming to sit next to Keith with his own bowl of goo. "I take it you froze up again."

"Until you told me to go to Shiro." Keith pokes at his goo.

"And that's why I said it," Lance says, unbothered, and Keith feels lighter for it. Lance always has his back. "Also, I'm down to move in together, assuming we can get a bigger bed. Like, I love you, but sooner or later one of us is gonna wake up on the floor."

That's pretty much what Keith thought he'd say. "Agreed."

* * *

Keith tugs on the hem of his suit. In armor, they're conspicuous but protected—in street clothes, unprotected but inconspicuous.

In Altean formal wear? Both conspicuous and unprotected. And usually when wearing this stuff they're at a private event, or at least somewhat separated from the public.

Right now, though, he and Lance are being jostled along a line at a theater on space Broadway. The rest are with them for now—Coran had insisted they see this show in particular, which to Keith's mind is a good indication he'll hate it—but the two of them are going to be sitting elsewhere. For their date, that's good; tactically, not so good.

"How much you wanna bet this is some weird opera?" Lance murmurs in his ear.

"Knowing Coran? Everything I own," Keith says, and Lance laughs. They shuffle forward. Keith keeps his eyes open. Lance takes his hand. 

"I still can't believe this," Pidge mutters behind them, and Lance looks back over his shoulder to grin and wink at her. She groans. 

They get into the theater without incident, and once they're in, the only incident is getting lost finding their seats. But they find them, and sit, and Keith only surreptitiously glances around for potential threats. 

"The only one here who looks like a threat is that glaring dude on the left wing of the balcony," Lance says very, very quietly into his ear. "So please stop looking like you're expecting to be attacked. It makes  _ you _ suspicious, and also a target."

Keith starts, and consciously tries to relax his posture. "How did you...?"

"I know you, babe," Lance says. "And I'm pretty sure the rest of us have been looking too. Just, y'know, subtly. You don't do subtle."

"...You're not wrong." Keith slouches. "I just don't like being exposed like this."

"How about," Lance says, "just for tonight, you trust that your sharpshooter boyfriend has your back, and leave it to me?"

"I... can try."

"Good enough for me." Lance pats his arm and settles in. 

The audience is still filing into their seats, but Keith forces himself not to look at them; instead, he watches Lance. Lance, who chatters on, adding his voice to the general noise in a low, pleasant stream of consciousness—but every once in a while, his eyes flick around the room even as he talks, and slowly, Keith relaxes. 

"Babe, babe." Lance swats at his arm. "Actually listen to this. When we go home, we gotta go to this place—it's like a video game but you're like actually there? You have to escape a room for real, but it's pretend. Pretend-real."

"I think we've had to actually escape too many rooms for that to be fun," Keith says. 

"It's fun because there's literally nothing at stake for once." Lance wags a finger. "All the problem-solving shit you love, none of the danger."

Keith's pretty sure it'll just be stressful—but maybe someday, when the war is over, it won't be. So he shrugs. "Okay, we can try it."

" _ Yes _ ," Lance says, and the lights finally lower. And as the music begins and the curtains draw back, Keith finally understands what Shiro was talking about in that dumpster. It's not that they're making plans to go to the beach, or an escape room, or whatever—it's that before, the mission was everything. Keith never thought about what he was going to do  _ after; _ he never even thought there'd  _ be _ an after. From the beginning he'd thought he'd die a paladin somewhere out in space and no one on Earth would miss him, only Shiro—and if Keith were to die, Shiro probably wouldn't be far behind. They live a dangerous life out here.

But if they survive, then there will be a time, someday, when Keith isn't looking around the theater for potential threats, isn't on constant guard, doesn't need to carry his knife everywhere he goes—and now, when it comes, Lance will be there with him.

(And when a spotlight shines into the balcony on the alien Lance had pointed out earlier, who stands and begins to sing on his way down to the stage, they find it is, indeed, an opera.)

* * *

In retrospect, Keith probably should have seen this coming. Most of the Blade is here, after all—they're gearing up for what might be the final battle of the war. And Lance had elbowed him in the middle of gathering everyone and pointed and whispered, "Look, that one has a mullet like you," and he and she had met eyes and he'd caught her looking at him all through the meeting. And Kolivan had waved him over to meet her afterwards, which was weird, so. He really has no excuse.

But it's still a surprise when Kolivan introduces her as Keith's own mother.

"Krolia," she says, gripping his arm. "It's good to see you again. I'm sorry it's been so long."

"Oh," Keith says.

There's a long, awkward pause.

"Uh, hi," he adds eventually. "I'm... Keith."

"I know." She says it like she's confused he said it at all, but it's not like he knows who named him or when she left.

"Why'd you leave?" he blurts. She sighs. Kolivan edges away.

"To protect you," she says, and begins to explain.

And he'd accepted who he is already, had chosen to leave the past behind him—and even when Lance had told him about Krolia he'd never really thought anything would come of it. But her explanation is filling a lot of gaps he didn't know he still wanted filled.

He's... satisfied, by the time she finishes. Maybe not happy, but satisfied. But he doesn't know what to do now, either.

"I don't expect you to just let me into your life like nothing happened," she says. "But I don't want to leave you again. Never."

"No, I... want to get to know you," Keith manages, and it's true. "I don't know—we're at a war, and we have our own missions. But, when we can, or if this all works, after..."

Krolia nods. "I would like that." She looks over his shoulder. "The blue paladin has been watching us for some time now."

"Oh, yeah, that's Lance, he's..." Should he introduce them? That's probably what you're supposed to do, but he only just met his mother—but they have the chance now, and it might not happen again. "He's my boyfriend." And Keith turns and waves him over. Lance comes jogging, a big nervous grin on his face.

"Hi!" he says, sticking out his arm. "I'm Lance. Keith's boyfriend. You're his mom, right? It's great to meet you."

Krolia eyes him, and then nods and grips his arm in turn. "Krolia. Nice to meet you, too." Keith internally breathes a sigh of relief.

The rest of the team gives them about five minutes of privacy before they descend; fortunately, before anything can go wrong, they're called away. Lance leans in as they walk away, trailing at the back of the team.

"So, did she totally hate me?" he asks. "I kinda feel like she hated me."

"She liked you," Keith says. "I don't know why anyone wouldn't."

"Aww," Hunk coos over his shoulder. Keith and Lance flip him off in unison but it only makes him giggle.

* * *

"Can we really do this?" Lance murmurs in the middle of their fifth war meeting today.

"We can do this," Keith tells him quietly.

"But how do you know?"

"Because you can do this," Keith says, "and so can I, and so can everyone else."

"Hm." Lance looks out across the table, eyes distant—at the humans, galra, rebels of a dozen species—and he nods, slowly. "Yeah. You're right. We can do this." 

Keith takes his hand. "And we will."

* * *

It's the night before they set their plans in motion, and Keith isn't sleeping like he should be. Nor is Lance, though he's so quiet Keith can barely tell the difference. Instead they're lying side by side, staring at the ceiling, waiting. 

"We really need to sleep," Keith says into the darkness for probably the fifth time now. 

Lance turns onto his side; Keith can tell because there's a shuffle and then a warm arm draped over his stomach. 

"You're still gonna come to Florida with me, right?" Lance asks. "After we win."

"Yeah," Keith says. "And we'll find a Ferris wheel and do that escape game thing."

"And you'll fight an alligator." Lance turns his head and Keith can feel his smile against his shoulder. 

"Yeah, and we'll charge admission. I remember."

"Good," Lance says into his skin. "'Cause we're really close now."

He's right. If they win tomorrow, that's it. Keith's sure there will be other messes to clean up, fires to put out, but the war? It really could be over, officially, by this time tomorrow. 

And if it is, despite those messes, they're going back to Earth. Even if only for a while, they're going home. 

Which is maybe why he remembers that old dumpster conversation again. 

"Hey," Keith says slowly. "You wanna get married someday, right?"

Lance shifts. "Well, yeah. Don't tell me you don't."

"It's not that I don't," Keith says. "I dunno. It doesn't really matter to me. I guess I want to if it's you."

Lance snorts and pokes his side. "That's kind of the point of marriage, you dork."

_ I want to do it for your sake, _ Keith doesn't say. "I didn't really think about it like that," is what he does.

Lance shakes his head as he chuckles. "I can't handle you." And then he looks up. "Hey. Since we're talking about adult stuff... Kids?"

"No," Keith says immediately. "That's scarier than everything tomorrow. No."

"Aw, c'mon. You'd be a great dad."

"Right, because I have so much experience with parents." And his dad was a firefighter—he died saving lives. That could still happen to them, even if it doesn't happen tomorrow, and Keith has no intention of doing that to a kid. Not even if it makes him a hero.

Lance scoots closer. "Okay, maybe this is too big a conversation for right now. But I know what to do, and you know what  _ not _ to do, so I think together we'd be fine."

"I'll think about it," Keith says. If anyone can change his mind, it’s Lance.

"Good enough." Lance snuggles in a little closer before he settles. His breathing evens out, and Keith's eyelids finally drift shut.

* * *

Lance is the first off, early in the morning. Keith walks him down to the hangar but the rest of the team trails after them, too, and when Lance gives them an overly-bright grin and a salute and says, "See you later!" they all chorus it back at him. His grin holds even as he turns to head to his lion.

"Love you!" Keith shouts after him.

"Love you more!" Lance shouts back, finger-guns and all, and then he's up the ramp and out of sight.

The blue lion roars, and then she leaves, and Keith watches her go.

"See you on the other side, Lance," he says, and turns to his own lion and his own mission.

Tonight, they'll meet again as the saviors of the universe. He's scared—terrified—but he almost, almost believes it.

* * *

If Keith were to make a list of things he hadn't expected to happen during their final showdown against the galra, Garrison ships showing up to help might just have topped it. But show up they did—and when it turns out their battleship's bridge crew includes not only Pidge and Matt's father, but also Lance's sister? Keith is pretty sure nothing will surprise him anymore.

(He's also pretty sure Lance will prove him wrong, as always—and he's okay with that.)

They rendezvous on a nearby moon, after everything, and it's the equivalent to two in the morning for most of them but the reunion is loud and energetic anyway. Meeting a member of Lance's family for the first time might have been more nervewracking if it hadn't happened so fast—one minute they're all converging and Lance is shouting over everyone's shouting, the next he's wrapped up unexpectedly in Veronica's arms.

"Hello!" she says, and then she's back to smothering her brother. It takes Keith a moment to process—that was Lance's sister, Lance introduced him as his boyfriend, she knows, she didn't hate him at first glance. That's good.

It's going to take a little longer to process that they  _ won, _ but he'll take his victories one at a time.

The night is a whirlwind; everyone ends up back on the castleship, and Coran breaks out the nunvill, and at some point most of the rebels and humans retire but the paladins and their families gather in the lounge and talk themselves to sleep.

And so Keith wakes with Lance sprawled mostly atop him as usual, except instead of in their bed, they're curled kind of uncomfortably on the couch, and most of the gang is asleep around them, except for Veronica, who's already awake and looking up from a holoscreen directly at him.

"Good morning," she says. "He likes you."

Keith raises an eyebrow. "What gave it away?"

His voice cracks into a hoarse whisper halfway through and she chuckles. Keith wraps his arms around Lance's back; he's not going anywhere anytime soon anyway.

"How long have you been together?" she asks, and Keith shrugs.

"Dunno. A while. Feels like longer than it probably has been." What with all the near death and everything, but he's not gonna talk about that to Lance's  _ sister. _

She pouts. "You don't know your anniversary?"

"Kinda hard to keep track of time out here." He looks down at Lance, who's drooling on his chest. "He'll probably pick a date, though, when we get home."

Keith doesn't realize he's smiling until Veronica coos under her breath. He fights it off as she leans forward, setting aside her screen and resting her chin in her hands and her elbows on her knees.

"What else are you gonna do when we get home?" she asks, and all at once Keith realizes she's testing him—probing like Shiro had been. Trying to see if he's serious.

So he looks down again at Lance, makes sure he's asleep, and then meets Veronica's eyes.

"I want to marry him," he says. It feels like the right thing to say—and oh, it's possible now. They can actually  _ do  _ that.

She covers her mouth with her hands but he can still see her grinning through her fingers. It's the same grin as Lance's; he wonders who they inherited it from.

" _ Yes _ ," she whispers, and then she sits up on the couch, bringing her legs up to sit criss-cross. The look on her face is another one of Lance's—teasing, playful.

If he can read everyone in Lance's family by virtue of knowing Lance, meeting them might not be so scary, after all.

"So!" she says brightly, and then cringes when Hunk stirs. "So," she repeats, quieter. "Lance told me last night how you met, but I want to hear it from you."

Oh, boy. Keith takes a deep breath, and begins to talk.

Hunk wakes up partway through; he watches them for a minute, then takes a couple of pictures of Lance and Keith—Keith gives him his best glare but Hunk only laughs—before gently scooping up Pidge and carrying her off, presumably to her own bed. Sam wakes up soon after, and Allura next, and Matt, and Krolia's already awake but she and Shiro pop in to check on them, making everyone a witness to Veronica's interrogation. Though Keith is pretty sure he's passed the test and it's just a conversation, now.

Soon enough, it's just the three of them: Veronica, Keith, and a sleeping Lance. And then Sam comes to collect Veronica so they can return to Earth in their own ship.

"See you soon!" she says, waving, and Keith waves back. "Tell Lance goodbye from me!" And then she's gone and it's just the two of them.

"You could've pretended to wake up in time to say goodbye," Keith says into the empty room.

"Who me?" Lance mumbles into his shirt. "No, I'm definitely asleep right now."

"Uh-huh. You haven't been asleep since she asked if I wanted to see your baby pictures."

Lance lifts his head. "That was the nightmare that woke me up," he says, and Keith laughs.

* * *

It's weird, going home. It feels abrupt, somehow; one minute they're on the other side of the universe, and the next sailing through a wormhole into the Milky Way. Or maybe Keith was just hoping for more of a buffer between knowing they're going to actually, for real, go back to Earth, and  _ doing _ it.

And maybe part of that—maybe a big part—is realizing he went and told Veronica he wants to marry Lance, and he doesn't know her well but he's sure she's not gonna keep it to herself, and if Lance's entire family knows by the time he meets them... 

He's might have to do it  _ soon. _ And it's not the thing itself; he's got no problem telling Lance he wants to stay with him forever, now that forever is an option. But while Keith would be more than willing to just go to the nearest town hall the moment they touch down and get hitched while still wearing their paladin armor, Lance is going to want  _ more _ than that.

Oh god, he's going to have to  _ propose, _ isn't he? This is going to be a Thing. And Lance did say he wanted to get married but he didn't say to Keith specifically, or when, and as always Keith rushes headlong into things but Lance needed time to know this was love and maybe he needs more time for this, too.

He's pretty sure that just asking Lance if he's ready counts as a proposal, though.

And it doesn't help when, as they sail through the Milky Way, Krolia finds him and greets him with, "Veronica told me you're getting married. Is it true?"

He groans. When did she even—at least he was right to think Veronica wouldn't keep it to herself, but he shudders to think who else she's told. At this rate Lance will hear from someone else before he hears it from Keith. 

"Not exactly," he says. "Not  _ yet _ ."

"But you plan to."

"I haven't  _ made plans, _ but yeah, sure. I plan to." Enough to be lowkey panicking over it, at least. "Why?"

She looks aside. "I never had the chance," she says, "but I would've liked to."

"...Oh." There's not much he can say to that. He pauses. "You... like him, right? Lance? You, I dunno, approve?"

She raises an eyebrow as she meets his eyes. "Of course. I don't need to judge him; he is a paladin of Voltron."

"He's more than that," Keith says mindlessly, and she smiles, just slightly.

"Good luck, Keith," she says, squeezing his shoulder. "I look forward to the wedding." And she leaves him alone in the hallway.

Well. No pressure.

* * *

Landing is a mess. There's a lot of yelling about clearance and quarantine, and then there isn't room, and there's a handful of rebel ships with them besides. But it all gets sorted out, eventually, and they touch down just outside the Garrison.

Lance's family is already there waiting when they disembark. Pidge's and Hunk's, too. Allura and Coran head off to talk to the Garrison officials in person, leaving Keith, Shiro, and Krolia all standing back with no one coming to meet them.

Which... is fine. This is all the family Keith needs. 

"I guess I should go with Allura," Shiro says eventually. "There's going to be a lot to talk about."

"Yeah," Keith says. 

"You should meet Lance's family, Keith," Krolia says. 

Keith looks at the group, still entangled in a massive group hug. "There's too many of them."

Shiro laughs. "Better to meet them now than at the wedding."

"Shiro!" Keith protests, but he's already heading off after Allura. Krolia pats his shoulder. 

"He has a point," she says. 

"Fine, but you're coming too," he says. She lifts her eyebrows but doesn't resist when he tugs her after him. 

Despite being thoroughly buried in relatives, Lance still spots them approaching and manages to disentangle himself long enough to shout, "Keith!"

"Uh... Hi," Keith says, stopping as everyone's eyes fall on him. Veronica comes and claps him on the shoulder as Lance tries to get the rest of the way free. 

"That's my boyfriend!" he shouts after a moment, apparently giving up on escape. "And his mom!"

There's a definite second wherein everyone looks at Krolia and visibly tries to reconcile this massive purple woman as Keith's mother. But then Veronica pinches Keith's cheek and coos "Isn't he cute!?" and then Keith is being swarmed too. He yelps beneath the sudden onslaught. 

"Don't smother him!" Lance calls nearby. "C'mon, let me in." He wiggles into the crowd until he reaches Keith, who clings to him for dear life. "You guys are gonna scare him off, c'mon, back off—back  _ off, _ Veronica, he's mine."

They do back off, but not by much, and Keith is still left with Lance at his side and two small children wrapped around his legs. One of them tugs on his shirt. 

"Tio Keith!" he shouts. "Are you an alien?"

"I'm part alien? What's a tio," Keith says nervously, and the family laughs. 

"It means uncle," Lance says in his ear, and before Keith has processed that Lance is scooping up both children into his arms as they scream in delight. To one side, a woman that must be Lance's mother reaches to introduce herself to Krolia—who looks about as overwhelmed as Keith feels. At least he's not alone in this. 

Veronica slings an arm around Keith's shoulders. "What do you think?" she asks. 

"Everyone's very friendly," Keith says distantly, causing another ripple of laughter. 

They calm down, eventually—at least, they stop  _ touching _ him so much, though they're not really any quieter. Keith actually meets Lance's mother properly, and at least she looks him over before giving him another hug. 

"Veronica's right, you  _ are _ cute," she says.

"Thanks?" Keith says.

She steps back and takes him by the shoulders. "You already have her approval, and she has good judgment, so I'll go easy on you. But you better take good care of him."

"Mom!" Lance complains, still occupied with his niece and nephew nearby.

"He can take care of himself, but I will, anyway," Keith says. He's pretty sure he's about to dissolve from the awkwardness, but she grins and pinches his cheek.

"Good answer!" she says, hugs him again, and turns back to her son. "Where'd you find this one, Lance? How'd you manage to keep him?"

" _ MOM _ ." Lance looks like he's about to combust; at least Keith's not the only one suffering here. "He loves me, do you think I tricked him or something? He even said it first, so there." 

She puts her hands on her hips. "What's this attitude?"

"No attitude! No attitude." Lance extricates himself from the kids and stands. "I'm just saying. We've been together, like, a year now, he's here to stay." And he looks over her shoulder at Keith. "Keith! I'm declaring today our anniversary!"

Keith gives him a thumbs up and makes eye contact with Veronica. "Told you."

She nods. "You sure did."

* * *

Keith knows he's in trouble when, at the welcome back dinner/press conference a week later, Lance's mother catches his eye, nods to her son, and points at the ring on her finger. He pats his pockets and lifts his empty hands, because really, when does she think he had a chance to get a ring? They've been in constant meetings since they landed. She nods, but, well. She knows.

If Lance hasn't already heard from Veronica or someone she told, it'll get to him sooner or later. Probably sooner.

This isn't something Keith wanted a time limit for. 

So Keith corners Veronica, as the celebration's winding down, and says, " _ Help _ ."

"With what?" she asks, alarmed.

"Proposing to Lance."

She relaxes and grins. "So you're really gonna do it?"

"I was gonna do it anyway, but you went and  _ told _ everyone."

She grins wider and doesn't look apologetic at all. "So you're going to do it soon, and you want  _ my _ help." 

He glares. "You got me into this mess, you owe me."

She actually laughs at that. "Okay, sure. So, do you know what he'd like?"

"No—I mean, well, yes, I do, it's just—I could just  _ ask _ him and that'd probably fine, I don't even need really need a ring—and I dunno if he'll say yes anyway, it's kind of soon—" Veronica scoffs— "but he likes, y'know." He waves a hand. "Big romantic stuff, and I don't know how to do that, but I want to. For him."

By the end of his rambling she's got her hands over her mouth again, peering at him over the tips of her fingers. "God, you're adorable," she whispers. "Of course I'll help."

He sags. "Thank god."

"Keith!" Lance waves to him from across the room, and Veronica pats his shoulder.

"I'll be in touch," she says, and leaves him to be monopolized by his boyfriend once more.

"Be in touch," it turns out, means hunting him down later in his room with tablet in hand while her mother distracts Lance with some family thing. Veronica plops down onto his bed like she owns the place and gestures him over. 

"I have some videos to show you," she says.

What follows is worse than anything Keith could have imagined. Veronica has found a collection of extravagant proposals—lip sync serenades, actual serenades, flash mobs, public art—all very complicated and very, very public. He can only take about five of them before he actually grabs Veronica's hand to stop her from playing another. 

"No," he says. "No, no, no."

She pouts. "You said big and romantic."

"How is that romantic?" Keith gestures at the screen, where the video of a flash mob proposal is asking them if they want to replay. "It's just public. It's just... looking for attention."

"Yeah, it's a public declaration of love," says Veronica. "They put a lot of effort into that."

"They put a lot of  _ money _ into that."

"You're such a cynic, how do you two even get along?"

Keith shrugs. "Opposites attract?"

Veronica rolls her eyes. "Sure. Okay, so you want something big and romantic, but not public."

"It doesn't have to be  _ big, _ it just has to be something Lance likes." Keith rubs his forehead. "He's always talking about the ocean, do you think it's enough to do it on a beach? He likes beaches."

She steeples her fingers and regards him for a moment. "...Huh. I may have misjudged you."

"What?" he asks tiredly.

"Mom and I thought you were trying to prove to us you loved him," she admits. "I mean, that's what public declarations of love are for. You're actually doing this for him?"

He stares. "I said it was for him from the start?"

"That doesn't mean you  _ meant _ it. Okay." Veronica looks hard at her tablet for a moment, then turns it towards herself and starts typing. "Okay. Okay. I have an idea."

He goes to peer over her shoulder, but moments later she turns the screen towards him anyway. And what's on it is... not bad, actually. Simple enough for him to pull off, but corny enough that Lance will love it.

"It's perfect," he says, and Veronica grins.

* * *

The Garrison has officially released them into the world, but unofficially they've been asked to still stay close for now. So Florida is put on hold; in the meantime, Keith spends some time with Krolia. They talk, mostly, train some, and when they have the chance, they visit his dad's grave.

He looks at his mother standing before the grave and he tries to imagine what it would be like to see both his parents, at once, side by side. He almost, but can't quite, picture it.

He spends time with Lance's mother, too—his whole family, really, by virtue of spending time with Lance, but it's his mother in particular who's making an obvious effort to get to know him. And feed him. Lance wasn't kidding when he said there'd be more food than he could eat.

Veronica, too, hangs around them a lot, and it's Veronica who grabs him while Lance is occupied with his niece and nephew and drags him to where her mother awaits.

"We're going ring shopping!" she declares.

"Now?" he asks weakly. 

"Yes, now," Veronica says. And, to be fair, his chances to do this are probably going to be limited, and he's  _ ready, _ but he still feels like maybe this all is moving kinda fast. Lance's family has only known him for a month, and—obviously they approve so far, but  _ still. _

"I don't know what Florida weather is like, but it's barely spring," Keith points out. "Is it even warm enough to go swimming?"

"Just because you'll have the ring doesn't mean you have to propose right away. You'll just be prepared." She waves a hand. "So wait a month to pop the question. You're still stuck here for now anyway."

"Plenty of sand in the desert," her mother comments, grinning. 

"I think he’d notice the difference," Keith says while Veronica laughs. 

A Garrison shuttle takes them out into the nearest town, and from there Veronica takes the lead, getting them to a jewelry store via bus. Keith isn't sure he's ever even been in a jewelry store before—at least, not on Earth—but Veronica and her mother seem to have plenty of ideas as to what Lance would like. 

He's not really sure if that's fortunate or not.

He vetoes most of them out of practicality—too large, too expensive, too delicate. They're probably going back to space, after all; a ring that's a full knuckle long or fragile or sticks out too much is a ring that's going to be sitting in their room more often than on Lance's finger. The shop attendant watches them bemusedly, sometimes offering tips but mostly staying out of the women's way.

It's Lance's mother who finds it: a sturdy silver band (or maybe it's platinum, Keith honestly has no idea) with a wave-like pattern carved into it, inset with blue. A single, tiny diamond sits at the crest of one wave.

"Could use a bigger rock," Veronica muses.

"No, it's perfect," Keith says. It's not gonna get in Lance's way,  _ and _ it's themed after water, which, given what he's planning for the proposal, is... probably going to make it obvious that he didn't coordinate all this on his own, but that's fine. He's pretty sure Lance will like it.

The only question is, will he accept it?

Keith looks at the ring long enough that the women start to snicker, and then he buys it. The shop assistant wishes him luck.

"I'll smuggle it into the Garrison for you," Veronica offers. "I can hold onto it too, if you want. I know Lance is at least as nosy as I am."

Well, at least she's self-aware. "Fine," Keith says, and hands it over.

* * *

Shiro finds him sitting on the roof, staring thoughtfully at his left hand.

"Something on your mind?" he asks.

"I bought a ring today," Keith says, and Shiro sits down next to him.

"For Lance?"

"Yeah."

Shiro ruffles his hair, finally breaking him out of his stupor. He laughs and doesn't budge when Keith tries to push him over in retaliation.

"You've come far, kid," he says.

"Shut up."

"Proud of you."

"I still have a long way to go!" A whole future ahead of them, and he's barely past the starting line. Hell, he’s just  _ bought _ the starting line.

"Yeah." Shiro stops tussling with him and sits back, smiling at the horizon. "That's how it's supposed to be."

* * *

In late spring the Garrison finally lets them go for real, and Keith and Lance and Lance's family (and Krolia) all head down to Florida. 

One by one, the items on their list of Earth things to do get checked off.

* * *

Keith feels like his purpose is written full across his face when, finally at the beach, he suggests building a sandcastle. The way Lance's whole family perks up doesn't help, nor how aware he is right now of the ring and the two little flags hidden in Veronica's purse.

"Yeah!" Lance replies, apparently unaware. "Oh man, we used to have  _ so _ many buckets for castles—Marco! Marco, did you bring the buckets?"

Marco did bring the buckets, of course, ostensibly for his children; the two of them enthusiastically help Lance and Keith with starting the castle, though they quickly lose interest. Lance, though, gets invested in the project just as Keith had hoped.

Now he just has to wait for the right moment.

"Almost done, I think," Lance declares finally, standing back to look at their sagging masterpiece. "It's just missing some decoration."

Okay, Keith couldn't have planned that better if he tried. He catches Veronica's eye.

"I know just the thing," he says. "Close your eyes."

"If you're just drawing a dick on our castle I'm going to be mildly disappointed," Lance says, but he closes his eyes anyway, and everyone springs into action.

...Which is to say, Veronica springs into action, tossing Keith the ring box—he catches it but nearly has a heart attack in the process—and sticking the flags into the top of the castle; everyone else just pulls out their phones. Keith steps up behind Lance and covers his eyes with one hand.

"No peeking," he says.

"Okay, so I'm guessing it's not a dick," Lance says.

Keith really really hopes his hand isn't shaking. "You'll just have to wait and see. Ready?"

He doesn't feel particularly ready himself, but Lance says, "Hell yeah." So Keith lowers his hand and steps back.

The flags are stiff little things, barely moving in the breeze. It makes the message they carry easily readable: MARRY ME?

Lance stares. And then, when he spins around, Keith is there on one knee, ring in hand, about to vibrate out of his skin with nerves.

"Holy shit," Lance whispers, and he drops to his knees too, hand over his mouth. There's a very tense second in which he doesn't move at all, just stares—but then he shuffles closer on his knees and tackles Keith into the wet sand.

"Lance!" Keith yelps, barely rescuing the ring from falling into the sand with them. Lance pushes himself up on his arms, silhouetted by the sun and glowing with it.

"Really?" he asks breathlessly.

"Yeah," Keith says, and maybe he should've prepared something to say, that's a thing people do, right? Hell, he's winging it. "I know we can't stay here on Earth forever, 'cause we're paladins, and there's still stuff out there we gotta do. And I know you probably want to stay because this is your home—but you're my home, and if we gotta go, at least you'll have me, good or bad." He grins crookedly. "Or rocket science. Whatever happens, I'll be there."

There are tears streaming down Lance's face by the end of it, but he's grinning, so Keith's pretty sure that's a good sign. And when he leans down again to kiss Keith soft and slow, that's probably a good sign too.

The wave that comes and splashes over them, sending them both spluttering upright, is just par for the course.

"Oh my god," Lance says, pushing his wet hair back from his face. He's so beautiful. "Oh my god, I love you. Gimme that ring already."

Keith offers the box (with the ring thankfully still in it). "So that's a yes?"

"Of course it's a yes!" Lance sticks his finger through the ring, pulling it out of the box. He pushes it all the way on as he stands, then offers Keith a hand up too, and Lance's family cheers.

"Woo!" he shouts back at them, waving, and then he wraps his right arm around Keith and holds his left hand up to look at the ring. "Ooh, I love it."

"I wish I could claim responsibility, but honestly your mom picked it out."

Lance snorts, and then he looks at his celebrating family—some of whom are obviously still recording—and the flags still in the sandcastle.

"Did you get my whole family in on this?" he asks.

"More or less, yeah." Keith kisses Lance's sandy cheek. "I guess they like me."

"Well they  _ should _ ," Lance says, and Keith laughs. He's never felt so light—so happy.

He's gonna marry Lance.

Holy shit, he's  _ really _ going to marry Lance.

He can't wait.

**Author's Note:**

> wow did i rlly write that. k.
> 
> you can find me at [maternalcube](http://maternalcube.tumblr.com/) if you want to for some reason


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